


A Victory Of Sorts

by Vorcha_Girl



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Action, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 03:29:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5952061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vorcha_Girl/pseuds/Vorcha_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a lot of tension between Vanessa Shepard and Jacob Taylor, and she's hoping a nice one-on-one battle in the Armax Arsenal Arena might settle things between them once and for all!</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Victory Of Sorts

_Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect_

**A/N - This isn't my usual ship, but I hope it's still good! It's a present for my friend Vanessa Masters :) Enjoy!**

* * *

 

 Challenging Jacob to games of skills was something Vanessa Shepard had learned to love. There was something about almost letting him win and then snatching victory away at the last moment that appealed to her - though the few times she had been nice enough to let him win had been adorable. He’d even done a cute little victory dance, though he’d denied it later.

 But fun as it was, she was sick of playing arcade games against him. Sure, they had fun together, but she wanted something more. Something that would push the heat and chemistry between them to new levels … an _Armax Arsenal Arena_ match. No support, just them; one on one. Vanessa’s lips curved into a small smile as she remembered the way Jacob’s eyes had widened at the suggestion of them tangling physically.

 His reaction had been _very_ satisfying.

 She tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder and continued fastening up her armour, locking the metal plates in place and checking her weapon over. They may have all been fake, but she was damned if she was going to go into the fight with faulty equipment. She was planning on raising the stakes for this particular little game and coming out on top!

  _Really_ , she thought as she checked herself over in the mirror, admiring the way the armour shone under the neon lighting,  _it was long since time that she and Jacob stopped playing games with each other!_

 She strutted onto the Arena floor with her shotgun resting on her shoulder and grinned when she saw Jacob waiting for her. Framed against the glowing neon screens he looked like some kind of dark avenging knight; his skin gleamed darkly, his black armour sparkled, and if she wasn't mistaken she could see faint wisps of blue as he warmed up his biotics. Yummy. So very, very yummy.

 "Well, well," Jacob murmured as she drew closer, puffing out his chest and casting his gaze down her form. "Look who decided to show up. Ready to get that fine booty kicked in a few rounds?"

 Vanessa laughed. "Honey, if you think I'm going down-" she abruptly stopped and giggle. "Well, maybe I will be going down after all." She glanced meaningfully down his body and wriggled her eyebrows. "If you catch my drift."

 He shook his head and chuckled at her flirting. "You're incorrigible, 'Nessa."

 "You wouldn't like me any other way," she purred back, hefting her weapon and readying a clip. "Any final words before I take you out?"

  _And hopefully get your blood pumping wildly!_

 Jacob lifted his assault rifle and loaded a clip. "Not at all, just don't come crying to me when I beat you down."

 "Oooh! Trash talk!" A laugh burbled from her throat and she blew Jacob a kiss and danced away to find a nice starting point. “That’s going to come back to bite you later, Taylor!”

 The arena was set to a humid jungle world, and Vanessa headed for cover, ducking down between a leafy plant and a bullet riddled stone wall. The air was hot and sticky, and before long her hair was plastered to her forehead and sweat dripped down her body. A bird cry sounded and she jumped, peering out from behind the wall in case Jacob was approaching, but there was no sign of him and carefully, so as not to attract attention, she began to creeping forward.

 She'd never been a very patient person. In fact, amongst the crew of the Normandy she was notorious for being incredibly impatient, especially when it came to combat. She liked charging forward and being in the thick of things. Fighting hand to hand with her shotgun and Omni-blade was how she liked to do things. This creeping around and keeping a low profile style of fighting really didn't suit her.

 Vanessa moved carefully, skirting around a tumble of moss covered boulders and scanning constantly for any movement. Her neck prickled as though eyes were on her, but when she glanced around she saw nothing. If Jacob was out there, he was staying still and quiet; briefly, she envied him.

 A crack sounded, the sound of a branch snapping under a boot, and a flock of alien birds erupted from the trees nearby, squawking and hooting angrily as they sailed into the sky. Vanessa cursed and ducked low, hugging the boulders as she wedged herself into a gap and tried to listen for more sounds. Her heart beat pumped in her ears, almost deafening her, and she concentrated on breathing in air cleanly and slowly.

 Another sound came, a low scraping that could have been a boot on a rock or armour against stone, and she held her breath, her eyes scanning the foliage where the noise had come from. She saw nothing, but she was certain he was there. She raised her gun, resting it on a rock as she aimed in the direction she thought he might be in. At this range it was doubtful that she'd hit him, but that wasn't her plan - she wanted to flush him out.

 Her finger itched as she curled it around the trigger, nestling the gun close and sighting down the barrel. She drew in a breath, held it for a heartbeat, and with a small grin she pulled the trigger and the gun kicked in her arms. The roar was instant, deafening, and the shrub she'd fired at exploded with green as the leaves shot off in all directions.

 There was a strangled yell and then Jacob rolled out, firing straight at her. The bullets sparked off the rocks and Vanessa shrieked in surprise as she scrambled back around the rocks, staying low to avoid his fire.

 "Nicely done!" Jacob called out from the other side of the boulders. "But I could have shot you when I broke cover, you know!"

 Vanessa glanced at the tumble of boulders and, with a determined grunt, she hefted herself up and began to climb; maybe she could take him by surprise!

 "Well, why didn't you?" she asked as she climbed silently and quickly, her muscles aching faintly as she scaled the rocks like a spider.

 He laughed and she heard the scuff of dirt as he leapt around a boulder, apparently trying to take her by surprise. "I was being nice," he confessed. "Besides, you know I don't want to hurt you."

 She paused, her fingers digging in as she clung to the rock. "What do you mean, you _don't want to hurt me_?" Her voice was slightly breathless, and her heart pounded a little harder.

 "Well, you know," Jacob sounded slightly embarrassed. "We've got this _thing_ between us."

 " _Thing_?" Vanessa mentally kicked herself as his voice grew closer and she continued to climb, pulling herself up onto another boulder and rolling away from the edge so he wouldn't see her. "What do you mean by  _thing?"_

 She peered over the edge and grinned as he came into view, his gun up as he checked the crevices of the rocks on ground level. He moved like a predator, slow and steady, careful and sure as he tracked her. Unfortunately for him, the hunter was being hunted. Vanessa grinned to herself as she brought her gun around, aiming it squarely at him as he skirted around a boulder and paused.

 The barrel of the shotgun grated against the stone and she cursed as his head jerked up in her direction. Their eyes met, a connection that sent a flush through Vanessa, as she pulled the trigger at the same time as he did.  His shot took her in the shoulder, knocking her back, and she squealed as she rolled off her perch. She landed on her feet, but lost her balance and toppled forward, landing straight on Jacob who was trying to reload below her.

 They crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs and guns, both of them struggling and grappling to get the upper hand. The air was knocked out of Vanessa’s lungs, but she managed to stay on top of Jacob as he attempted to fling her off, and she breathlessly grinned down at him as he stared at her with eyes that were both annoyed and amused. He looked deliciously cute, and she caught a whiff of his spicy cologne; warm and masculine.

 Good lord this man was tempting!

 “Only you,” he gasped as he gave up struggling and flopped back on the ground with his gun held loosely in one hand. “Could end up doing this to the both of us. No stealth, no skill, just plain dumb luck and a fall.”

 “I was very stealthy!” she defended herself, trying to sound hurt as she gave him wide eyes. “You had no idea I was up there until I scraped my gun!”

 Jacob rolled his eyes. “That’s my point. I shouldn’t have known you were there.”

 Vanessa shifted her weight on top of him as she looked down into his brown eyes, suddenly very away of the feel of his body under hers. The hard planes of muscles, the armour plating, the knowledge that she was straddling him so their groins were pressed close. She grinned despite herself and leaned down, her mouth hesitating over his.

 “And I could have taken that shot a whole lot sooner.” She relaxed her hold on his wrists and brushed her lips against his slowly, sensually. Jacob shivered under her. “But I didn’t.”

 His eyes had closed at her kiss and they fluttered open again and he closed his arms around her, dropping his gun as one arm wound around her waist and the other slid up her back so he could cup the back of her head, burying his hand in her long dark hair and pulling her mouth back to his.

 “You’re going soft, ‘Ness.” Jacob whispered against her lips.

 His fingers scraped along her scalp, teasing, gentle, tugging gently at her hair until he pulled her down into a kiss. It was electric. Perfect. Like rain after a drought. His lips teased hers apart, warm and firm, and his tongue slid against hers, swirling gently. Vanessa groaned and leaned into the kiss, nipping at his lower lip as she melted against his firm body.

It was heaven.

 Distantly she heard the sound of a klaxon and cheering, and the loud raucous _Armax Arsenal Arena_ advertising screamed into their personal sanctuary, disturbing their peace. Jacob broke the kiss and she felt his lips curve into the smile as the screens around them flashed brightly and the winner was announced.

**"** **_Round one winner, Jacob Taylor.”_ **

 Vanessa froze, her eyes widening as she snapped back to reality and levered herself off Jacob in a push up move, hovering above him and staring at the nearest screen in shock. Jacob had won? _Jacob had won_? It wasn’t possible! She looked down at him to find him grinning broadly, his hands still loosely clasped to her body.

 “That’s not possible!” Vanessa sat up, still straddling his body as she pulled her shotgun to her chest. “You couldn’t have won!”

 He chuckled. “But I did.”

 “How?” she demanded, disbelief trickling through her body.

 “You missed me,” Jacob said simply, his arms sliding away from her curves as he gestured to his front. “I guess me firing first threw off your aim, because it went wide.” His smile widened and he tapped her shoulder. “But I managed to nail you good and proper.” He seemed to realise what he’d just said and he flushed, biting his lip and looking embarrassed. “No wait, I meant I got you-“

 Vanessa put her finger up to his lips, the temporary disbelief and anger sliding away as she watched him squirm under her. “No, honey,” she said quietly. “You _didn’t_ nail me good and proper.” She pushed off him and got to her feet, smirking as she offered him a hand up. “At least, not yet.”

 “Hmm, interesting.” He chuckled and seized her hand, swinging to his feet and catching her in his arms. “Does that mean you’re not angry at me for winning?”

 “Course not.” She tossed her hair and raised an eyebrow as she tugged him towards the dressing room. “Now let’s get out of here so you can enjoy your prize.”

 Jacob laughed, his hand squeezing hers gently. “Yes, ma’am.”

 It may not have been the great victory she was hoping for, but when it came to her and Jacob, no one ever really lost.

**The End :)**


End file.
